Universal joint.



fiAT NTED JULY 17, 1906.

C. W. SPIUER. UNIVERSAL JOINT. APPLICATION mum 00124. 1905.

5 5 tail side View of the idlilltllOU-ljiOUk- LIZ , universal joints,

"oifrrnio sirArns PATENT OFFICE,

UNIVERSAL JOINT.

No. scenes;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Iatented July 17, 1906' Application filed 0mm 4. 1905. same no. 281,253,

To all whom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, CLARENCE W. SPIonR, a, citizenv oi the UnitedStates, residing at Pleinfieliin the vcounty of Union and State of NewJersey, have inv ed certs-in new and useful Improvements in "UniversalJoints; and I do herebydecicre the following to be to feu al-oer, andexec't 'description of the invention, such as will enable otherssllilied'in' the art to which it eppertains' to make and use the some.

My invention relates to improvements in and comprises improvements inbeeringe oi such joints, else on improved trunniomhlock.

The objects of my invention are to increase the healing-surfaces of thejoint and to adopt the same for withstanding severe leterol stressesWithout increasing the dimensions o of the 'oint, to avoid thetrsnsniissionof power t ough iestenings, such as screws and the like, tomprove the construction of the trunnion-blocks of such ioints, andgenerally to increase the power nsinitting capacity of such joints, toreduce meiriction, and to make such joints strong, simple, reliable, andrelatively inexpensive. i v

I will now roceed to describe my invention with reiiircnce to thenccompenying drawings, in which my invention is shown applied to asingle universal joint of the type covered by my Patent No. 763,407,dated August 23, 1904; but it will. be obvious that the invention isequally tppiiceble to other universal joints as Well o double universeljoints, such. cs Ll nlnstreted and described in my Letters intent no.806,592, dated December 5, 1905, for exempts.

In the said drawings, Figs 1 shows it cenpertinl section. one partial eoint mechanism or on. messed universal joint constructed in eccordetncowith my invention. Fig. sh ws e, control transverse section throu d1 thetrnnnion-becrin s of the joint on t to line :r a: of Figs 1 3 showsanother transverse section on" the line y y of Fig, .1, the view scale.of the home, the corresponding ing .end trunnion i'ilociq journal beinomitted; Figv 5, e diagrammatic sections, elevation of e portion of thedriving rnecham e ism of e inotorwehiclc. Fig. '8 shows adebearing-bushtrei longitudinal section of ti 3 casing and it i xotlonof the H I being on at smaller Fig. 4 shows at detail side view ofoneignete two shafts or rotary members, of-

which either may be the driving member and the other the driven member,seid members being connected b the herein-described universel joint. Seijoint comprises two members 3 and 4, of which one, as 3, is commonlyformed as a disk and the other, 4, is a hub of shaft 2, sphericallycurved on its reair side for en egeinent WithWhe-ccsing 5, secured todis k 3, as described in invs'eidPntent No. 7 68,407 The two jointmembers 3 end t have projecting bearing-horns 6 6 and 7 7 on their ad jscent sides, and between said mourn here 3 and 4. is e trunnion-block 8,having trunnicrnpins -01 journal-pins 8 8 having bearings in bushings-99, fitted within suitable recesses of the bearing-horns 6 and 7. j I

To facilitate assemblin the ports of the universal joint and tofacilitate the use of e one-piece trunnionhlock, the beztringdicrns 6end 7 are provided with openings 9 at their ends lar e enough to permitthe passage sidewise of the journal-pins 8, but too sorrow to 'iermitthe passage of the bushings 9, which nttt'er crron ed to be introduce-dendwise In assembling the oint the horns of the momhers 3 and 4 areslipped over the appropriate journehpins of the trunnion-block, end thenthe beiiringhushings 9 are introduced length-- Wise into the sockets ofthe benringdrorns, seid bushings slipping over the journehpins. Thesebushings commonly have a drive fit in their sockets, and so do not Workout, though they may be removed readily. When in place, theychold theports of the joint to gether firmly. tion of my universal joint is fullydescribed and is claimed in inv aforesaid patent, No. 806,592, endisdescribed is necessery to permit understanding of the constructionshown.

One feature of my one piece trnmiion= block 8. The which thesetrtmnion-blocks are celled upon to withstandere excessive and ere oftenepplied very suddently, so that they are in the nature of shocks..Nsvertheless lightness, compactness, and simplicity'and cheepncss arenecesser For these reasons I have do vised the orm of trunnion blockshown, which is so designed'that it may be made in one piece, as adrop-forging, and thus may be formed of high'grede metal, and me beexceedingly strong, tough, and free Tom invention resides in the ijoints at which looseness may develop in fore the strength of the partsis maximum. 1 The diagonal braces form the onlyeonneotion between thejournal-pins, the ecrltflllhe' 3 ing open, since metal near the cen teris rai e tively inefficient for resisting the stresses 1 0 propel whichthe journal-pins are subjected. By the construction shown, therefore, Iobtain maximum strength with minimum weight and with minimum spaceoccupied.

It occasionally happens, particularly when the joints are used in thedriving-gear of motor-vehicles, that said joints are called upon towithstand stresses much greater than the mere torsional stress due tothe transmission of power. Fig. 5 illustrates a case in point. In thiscase the joint (designated by numeral 11) transmits power to an inclinedpropeller-shaft 12, which latter runs within a tubular housing 13,forming a continuation of the gear-case 14, within which are the usualbevel transmitting-gears commonly emplo ed for transmitting motion froma l er-shaft t0 the driving-axle 15, which gears are not shown thedrawings. The gear-case 14 is free to W res to the frame of the vehicle,@QQBpt or the bearing on the propeller-shaft, 1.19.1 i has at some pointa ong its length HSlMlli-Y near its end, as at 18. Consequently thestresses on the universal joint 11 are not merely the torsional stressesof power transmission,-' but are also the stresses applied laterally,due to to the tendency. of the gear-case 14 to rotate. To meet theexcessive lateral pressure on the bearings thus produced, I providebearingshoulders 17 on the trunnion-block adjacent to the bases of thetrunnionpins, which shoulders are of such breath that they bear againstthe bearingdmrns 6 6 and 7 7 directly, as shown, so that pressuretransmitted from the driving or driven member of the joint to thetrunnion-block, or, vice versa, is not transmitted through any partfastened in place by a screw, pin, or other fastening device which maywork loose or give way, but is transmitted from an integral part of thedriving or driven member to an integral part of the trunnion block, orvice versa. This is very important, as thereby all danger of accidentdue to possible insecurity of las tenings is avoided. It will-be notedby examining Fig. 5 that the giving away of the universal joint whilethe vehicle is in motion and the consequent freeing of thepropellershaft and its casing would be apt to result in the seriouswrecking of the meaeni m 9f vehicle. By transmitting the lead diree yfrom integral parts of one'memher oi the joint to integral parts ofanother member of the joint, avoiding transmission through fastenings ofany kind, danger of breakdown of thejoint is obviated. Obviously thebearing surfaces of the shoulders 17 and of the parts of the driving anddriven members with which these shoulders engage are not neces sarilyflat, and I do not limit myself to any particular type of bearing. Itwill also be ,fo vious that my invention as described is in dependent ofthe casing with which the uni versal joint is shown as provided and thatthe invention is equally applicable to unincased ioin One {rupture of myinvention resides in a reversible brakerfiange with which the universaljoint may he provided. It is quite common, partidularlt in automobiletransmission mechanism, to provide one member of the universal joint,cr'cf one 9f the universal joints where there are more than one, Withaflange for receiving a band or other brake: In the mechanism of someuniversal joints it is desirable or necessary that this flange shouldbeover the universal joint. In other cases it is desirable or necessarythat the flange should be to one side of the universal 'oint. To meetthese varying conditions, 1' ave devised a removable and reversiblebrake-flange for universal j ints, eonsistin of a flanged disk 18,arrang d to be secure to the disk member 3 of the joint as shown. In oneposition of this diskits ii {over the universal joint; but, if desired,the

ango 19 is disk may be removed, turned around, and again secured inplace, with the flange projectin away from the universal oi nt, asindicated hil dotted lines in Fig. l. In this way I am a lg to. adaptthe brake-flange for a great variot of diil'gn-gent conditions;

Another 'eature of my inyontion resides in the cutting away of the beaing-s d rs 17 011 one side to an extent sullici nt to expose thebearingdiushings 9. This done in order to permit a tool to be placedagainst the bearing-bushings to force'the same out; otherwise it wouldbe dillicult to take down the joint when once assembled.

of the bushing which is most accessibleand also the side of the shoulderwhich would be least ellective.

What I claim is 1 l. in a universal joint, the combination of drivingand driven. members and a trunnionblock, said block provided withprojecting journal-pins having bearin s in said driving and drivenmembers and also provided with bearing-shoulders coactin with integrallyformed portions of the driving and driven I As shownparticularly "I Fig.1, tho shoulders 17 arecut away on the outer side, this being the aide.

of the bearing-surfaces of said ins.

' through whereby transmission of load iastenings to or from saidtrunnionblock 1s avoided.

members 2. In a universal j oint, the combination of driving and i'venmembers and a trunnionblock, said block having projecting journal,- ginsfitting within recesses'of said driving and iven members, one of saidmembers provided with bushings surrounding the journal- 'pinsfittingwithin it, and having also adjacentto said bushings, bearing-s acesormed on-integralportions. of said member and coactin faces formnion-b-lock.

3. A one-piece trunnion-block for universal joints, comprising a singlepiece of metal consisting offou're uidistant projecting j ourn'al-pinsconnected by four direct'diagonal braces springing from the immediatevicinitywith corresponding bearing-suron integral portions of said trun-4. A one-piece trunnion-bloc for universal joints, comprising a singlepiece of metal 1;, which unite with said for the latter, said bracessgrmging eating- .surraces -otsnd consisting of four 1'0] ectingournal-pins connected by four diagonal braces the ends of journal pinsto form the immediate vicinity of the contra r pins and inclosing anopen one-piece trunnionsblock for univer" sal joints comprising asin lepiece of metal consisting of four from a body forme by four diagonalbraces united together at their" ends and inclosing 35 ders projectingbeyond said bushings to coact 5o I bearing-surfaces formed on saidmemher, said shoulders cut away on one side to a diameter less than thediameter of the corresponding portions of said i -b testimony whereof I;have reun'to af- 55 my signature in the presence of two wit- I ENGE- W.VSPICER I 'Witnesses: I

M.A. S'r.Jo1m,

l Asa FrRwnom a.

ouma -p1ns projecting races, 4o

journal-pins having 5v

